How to Choose a LoRaWAN Gateway for a Farm: A Buyer’s Guide for Livestock GPS Networks

A farm gateway connects livestock GPS collars, LoRa ear tags, environmental sensors and the cloud management platform. An unsuitable gateway may cause coverage gaps, delayed location updates, frequent device disconnections and expensive system expansion.

1. Evaluate the farm’s area and terrain

Open and flat grazing land normally offers favorable LoRa propagation. Hills, valleys, forests, buildings and large metal structures can significantly reduce the practical coverage range.

Before selecting a gateway, evaluate:

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  Total farm area and grazing-zone distribution
  
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  Livestock routes, water points and shelters
  
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  Hills, forests, buildings and other obstructions
  
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  Availability of cellular, broadband or satellite connectivity
  
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  Expected number of collars, ear tags and sensors
  

For a large farm, never design the network using advertised distance alone. A field radio survey should be conducted, with overlapping coverage reserved between gateways.

2. Select the correct LoRaWAN frequency

Common regional frequency plans include CN470, EU868, US915, AU915, KR920, IN865, RU864 and the AS923 variants.

The gateway and end devices must use compatible frequency plans that comply with local radio regulations. A frequency mismatch may prevent devices from joining the network or severely reduce performance.

3. Prefer a multi-channel gateway

An eight-channel LoRaWAN gateway is generally recommended for livestock projects. It can receive data over multiple frequencies and spreading factors, allowing it to serve more GPS collars, ear tags and sensors than a single-channel device.

Check the gateway’s receiving capacity, sensitivity, transmit power, packet-forwarding performance and recommended device load. Capacity must be calculated according to reporting intervals, packet sizes, positioning frequency and alarm traffic—not only the manufacturer’s maximum device figure.

4. Choose reliable backhaul connectivity

LoRaWAN connects field devices to the gateway, while the gateway needs a backhaul connection to send information to the server.

Available options include:

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  4G or 5G
  
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  Ethernet
  
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  Wi-Fi
  
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  Fiber or private network
  
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  Satellite communication
  

Remote farms should preferably use dual backhaul, such as 4G plus Ethernet. Where no cellular network is available, satellite links, wireless bridges or offline data caching may be required. Automatic retransmission after network recovery is especially valuable.

5. Check outdoor protection

A pasture gateway must withstand rain, dust, lightning, wind and extreme temperatures. An outdoor model should normally provide IP67 protection, wide-temperature operation, surge protection, durable antenna connectors, UV-resistant housing and secure pole-mounting hardware.

Lightning arresters, grounding and power-surge protection are essential in storm-prone locations.

6. Plan the power system correctly

PoE or DC power can be used where grid electricity is available. Remote grazing zones often require a solar panel and battery system.

The design should consider gateway consumption, cellular-module consumption, local sunlight, consecutive cloudy days, battery capacity and low-temperature performance. Sufficient energy must be reserved for nighttime and poor-weather operation.

7. Verify platform and protocol compatibility

A suitable gateway should support standard LoRaWAN communication and integration with mainstream or private network servers. Check support for:

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  Semtech UDP or LoRa Basics Station
  
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  MQTT, HTTP or API integration
  
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  ChirpStack or other network servers
  
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  Remote configuration and firmware upgrades
  
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  Status monitoring and communication logs
  
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  Integration with an existing GPS tracking platform
  

A unified platform is especially useful when LoRa, GPS and cellular devices operate within the same project.

8. Common purchasing mistakes

Typical mistakes include relying on theoretical range, ignoring antenna height and cable loss, installing only one gateway without redundancy, selecting the wrong regional frequency and overlooking the device-management platform.

Receiving LoRa packets is only one part of a complete solution. The system must also provide mapping, tracking history, geofences, alarms, device management and data interfaces.

Jinshengchang’s farm IoT solution

Shenzhen Jinshengchang Technology Co., Ltd. can provide LoRaWAN gateways, livestock GPS collars, LoRa ear tags, solar power systems, virtual-fence functions and positioning platforms according to farm size, terrain, animal population and local connectivity.

The lora8 platform supports device management, live location, route history, geofence alerts, low-battery reminders, offline alarms and API integration. OEM/ODM hardware, communication protocols and multilingual platform customization are also available.

Conclusion

Do not select a farm gateway based only on price or advertised range. Terrain, frequency, device density, reporting interval, backhaul, power, outdoor protection and platform compatibility must be evaluated together. A field test is strongly recommended before finalizing the gateway quantity and installation locations.